Today in History

Today’s highlight in history: On Feb. 24, 1975, the Congressional Budget Office, charged with providing independent analyses of budgetary and economic issues, began operating under its first director, Alice Rivlin.

On this date:

1582: Pope Gregory XIII issued an edict outlining his calendar reforms. (The Gregorian Calendar is the calendar in general use today.)

1803: In its Marbury v. Madison decision, the Supreme Court established judicial review of the constitutionality of statutes.

1815: American engineer and inventor Robert Fulton, credited with building the first successful commercial steamboat, died in New York at 49.

1864: The first Union prisoners arrived at the Confederates’ Andersonville prison camp in Georgia.

1868: The U.S. House of Representatives impeached President Andrew Johnson following his attempted dismissal of Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton; Johnson was later acquitted by the Senate.

1920: The German Workers Party, which later became the Nazi Party, met in Munich to adopt its platform.

1938: The first nylon bristle toothbrush, manufactured by DuPont under the name “Dr. West’s Miracle Toothbrush,” went on sale.

1988: In a ruling that expanded legal protections for parody and satire, the Supreme Court unanimously overturned a $150,000 award that the Rev. Jerry Falwell had won against Hustler magazine and publisher Larry Flynt.

2010: Trainer Dawn Brancheau was dragged to her death by a killer whale, Tilikum, at SeaWorld in Orlando, Fla.

2014: Despite Western pressure, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed an anti-gay bill that punished gay sex with up to life in prison.